Dontrelle Willis pitched 6 and 1/3 innings of 1 hit ball last night.

Read that sentence above again.  Now try and believe it.

Like most of you, I was watching the Wings last night, and I didn't get to see most of Willis' gem; just a few innings during the 2 hockey intermissions.  But when the channel did get switched, I could barely believe those 3 boxes displayed on the Fox Sports Detroit screen:  0 | 1 | 0.

These numbers might have been more believable if either A) Number 35 was on the hill, or B) Dontrelle was high kicking in a church-league softball game.  But neither were true, and he was pitching to, quite possibly, the best offense in the American League.

I can recite stats to you all day long, but since you are reading my blog I am sure you can just as easily surf over to espn.com and see them for yourself.  My role is perspective.

Dontrelle Willis never earned any fans last year in Detroit, but what he did earn was a lot of respect.  He is a high profile player, and I know he has a lot of pride, yet he was willing to swallow that pride and be demoted to a minor league baseball team.  Did he have to do this?  Of course not, he signed a major league contract; the Tigers needed his permission to send him down.  He could have screwed the team over, either forcing him to stay on the Major League team, or forcing them to waive him and pay him the 27 million dollars to do nothing.

The other side?  Juan Rincon.  A worthless reliever who, a lifetime ago, managed to string together a few decent years.  In 2009, signs a minor league contract with the Tigers, but manages makes the opening day roster because Zumaya wasn't healthy.  The regular season rolls around, and his performance is terrible, and there is no longer any room for him on the roster, so the Tigers option him.  He refuses, hoping some team will pick him up, or the Tigers waive him so that he can collect 2 pay checks.

Instead of the easy road, Dontrelle worked his butt off.  He righted the ship with hard work, re-learning, and being open to constructive criticism.

So, the point of this blog is praise.  There aren't many players like Dontrelle.  Instead of believing he was entitled to that big contract, he wanted to earn it.  He wanted to earn it, not just for his own utility, but to make the contract look like a good investment for the team.  Willis said after the game, "[the win] feels great, because we're winning."  His attitude, his performance, and his aura is the kind of thing you want in your team's clubhouse.  His dedication and hard work are contagious, and nobody deserves success more than him.

So, I am really happy for Dontrelle's bounce back.  Of course, I am cautiously optimistic about his future, but I really, really hope his success continues because he earned it.

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Johan Frazen is a simply incredible hockey player.  I offer this video as evidence of some of this guy's incredible skills.

Spectacular regular season goals aside, this guy is doing something that few have ever seen before.  Here are his post-season statistics that I am sure are drilled into your head by now:

13 Goals last year, 18 points this year in 12 games.  

Frazen is singlehandedly keeping the Red Wings in contention for another championship.  Think about where the Wings would be without his elevated, clutch play; they would undoubtedly be dead in the water (Pond?).  Anaheim would have walked all over the Wings without the play of Frazen in that hard-fought, 7-game series, given how well the Ducks shut down Datsyuk and Hossa.

Frazen is the most clutch post-season performer we have seen in any sport in a while.  There is a long list of athletes whose performance takes a serious hit when the post-season rolls around; a list that starts alphabetically in the A's for A-Rod and Ray Allen.  There is another list, a much shorter list, of good players who become legends in the post-season, and Frazen belongs near the top.

If Reggie Jackson was Mr. October, Frazen might have to be Mr. May.

Lastly, remember the Wings just signed him to an 11 year deal earlier this season.  That contract looks even more appealing now that Frazen's play this post-season proved that last year's amazing statistics were no fluke.  The Wings will just about always be good enough to make the playoffs, and as long as this guy steps up his game in April and May like this, expect the engravers to be carving a lot of "Frazen" on those Stanley Cups and Con Smyth trophies.

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Can someone please tell me what Jim Leyland sees in Clete Thomas that I don't?  

Today was Clete's 5th game in a row starting in the outfield, proving that Jim intends on him being an everyday player and not just a situational left handed bat.  Personally, I don't get it.  He is hitting .333 right now, but 4 of those hits were in one game, and since them he has gone 2 for 14.  

Granted, that nobody in the Tigers lineup is really "lighting it up," but I still do not see the justification of starting Clete every day.

The reason I don't get it is because Clete gets thrown into an everyday role immediately, while Marcus Thames got little to no at bats before hitting the DL.  Another being that Jeff Larish also has not even been given the same opportunity that Clete has.  I understand that Clete is a much better outfielder than either Marcus Thames, Magglio Ordonez, or Jeff Larish, but that alone does not seem to justify Clete's big playing time or his position in the batting order (3rd).

There are several moves that are more logical than making Clete an everyday player fresh from AAA.  First, Leyland could platoon Raburn, Larish, and Thomas.  Larish supposedly can play the corner outfield positions, even though we have never seen him do so this year.  On the days when facing a right handed pitcher, my lineup and positions would look like this.

1.  Anderson - LF

2.  Polonco - 2B

3.  Granderson - CF

4.  Cabrera - 1B

5.  Larish - DH/RF

6.  Ordonez - DH/RF

7.  Inge - 3B

8.  Laird - C

9.  Everett/Santiago - SS

When facing a left-handed pitcher my lineup would look like this:

1.  Granderson - CF

2.  Polonco - 2B

3.  Ordonez - RF

4.  Cabrera - 1B

5.  Larish - DH

6.  Inge - 3B

7.  Laird - C

8.  Thomas/Anderson - LF

9.  Everett - SS

For the first time in ages, the Tigers are loaded with lefty bats.  Temporarily so, until Guillen and Thames come back.  But, Larish has been making more with his at-bats than Thomas has and I think he should be getting the vast majority of the playing time.  Plus, what are the Tigers waiting for?  Larish certainly isn't going to be useful to the Tigers as a first baseman, that spot is pretty much locked down for the next 7 years.  He would be far more useful as a corner outfielder or designated hitter.  And, lastly, Larish has far more talent than Thomas has, and I think that the most talent should be played most.

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So, Larry Foote is in town.  I have to admit that Larry Foote was my second favorite Michigan Linebacker ever (Ian Gold being my favorite) so obviously I would love him to come to town.  But seriously, the Lions, who won ZERO games last year and had a guy named PARIS playing middle linebacker last year, are saying they need to make sure HE FITS THE SCHEME!?!?  When you win 5 games you get the luxury of fitting guys in schemes.  When you are the Lions and you haven’t won a game in over a year and a half, you take ANY talent you can get.  How often do you A) get a guy who WANTS to come to Detroit, and B) actually fits a gaping whole in your team?  This is RARE!!!  Don’t forget this guy has won multiple super bowls, is a leader/all around good guy, and doesn’t want a long term contract.  This is a match made in heaven!

If I was martin mayhew I would have a 2-3 year, 3.5 million dollar contract (he made under 3 last year) ready for him to sign the second he walked into Ford Field.   But then again, I wouldn’t draft a TE in the first round, so clearly I know nothing about how to rebuild a football team.

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